Vertically movable sectional doors



June 30, 1959 E. L. STROUP 2,892,496

VERTICALLY MOVABLE SECTIONAL DOORS Filed May 18, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet s v INVENTOR. Ear/1.600%

A TTORNEK June 30, 1959 E. STROUP VERTICALLY MOVABLE SECTIONAL DOORS 4 Sheets Sheet 4 Filed May 18, 1956 mmvroze.

for/ L G/rocpo Wm w ATTORA/EK United States Patent VERTICALLY MOVABLE SECTIONAL DOORS Earl L. Stroup, Hartford City, Ind., assignor to Overhead Door Corporation, Hartford City, Ind.

Application May 18, 1956, Serial No. 585,724

Claims. (Cl. 160-229) This invention relates to improvements in vertically movable sectional doors. The principal objects of this invention are:

First, to provide frame construction for a vertically movable sectional door which will permit doors of different widths and having sections of different vertical height to be easily assembled using extruded aluminum frame members with a minimum of different cross sectional shapes.

Second, to provide frame structure for the sections of a vertically movable door in which elements of the frame are securely fastened together by fasteners exposed to the surface and accessible as the frame is assembled.

Third, to provide a novel joint connection between the rails and stiles of extruded metal door frames.

Fourth, to provide a novel connection between amuntin and the rails of an extruded metal door frame.

Fifth, to provide a .novel and tight seal for the glazing panels of a sectional door frame.

Sixth, to provide a frame for the section of a vertically movable door which is both light and rigid and reinforced against lateral deflection under wind loads against the door.

Seventh, to provide frame construction for a vertically movable sectional door in which the hinges can be attached at any point along the length of the frame sections as required.

Eighth, to provide frame structure for the sections of a vertically movable door in which the frame can be easily divided into panel openings of varying lengths. 7

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the following description and claims. The drawings, of which there are four sheets, illustrate a highly practical form of the door frame construction and one modified form of a closure panel therefor.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary outside elevational view of a vertically movable sectional door embodying the frame construction of the invention.

.Fig. 2 is a fragmentary inside elevational view of a portion of the door with parts broken away in vertical cross section.

Fig. 3-,is a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view through the door taken along the plane of the line 3-3 in Fig. .2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal cross sectional view taken along the plane of the line 4-4 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal cross sectional view through the middle stile of the door as indicated by the line 5-5 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view through asection of the door illustrating a modified form of the closure panel mounting.

Fig.7 is a fragmentary exploded perspective 'view of elements of the lower door section.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the joint between two sections of the door.

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Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective exploded view of elements of the frame of the door sections.

Fig. 1 illustrates a vertically movable door having a plurality of horizontally hinged door sections 1A, 1B, 1C, etc. The door sections are horizontally hinged together as will be described in greater detail and the door is adapted to be opened and closed in a well known manner by rolling the door sections upwardly and inwardly along supporting tracks not illustrated. The intermediate door sections 1B are made up of a horizontal lower rail 2 and a horizontal upper rail 3 connected by end stiles 4 and one or more intermediate stiles 5. Muntins 6 which are narrower than the intermediate stiles may be provided as desired in the frameto divide it into smaller openings. The top door section 1A has a lower rail 2 and the bottom 1C has an upper rail 3 which are the same as the rails 2 and 3 of the intermediate door sections. The top rail 7- of the top door section and the bottom rail 8 of the bottom door section are of different construction as will be described presently.

As appears more clearly in Figs. 3, 7 and 9 the lower rails 2 are formed as aluminum extrusions extending the full width of the door. The extrusions are generally U-shaped in cross section to provide outer walls or flanges 9 and inner walls or flanges 10 extending from an interior wall or web 11. Throughout the description the terms inner and outer will be used to refer to the inner and outer sides of the door in its normal closed position while the terms interior and exterior will be used to designate the position of parts relative to the periphery of the door and frame sections. Thus the rails and stiles have an interior surface facing inwardly of the opening formed by the frame while the same rails and stiles have inner andv outer surfaces facing the cone sponding surfaces of the door proper. The outer walls 9 of the lower rails are somewhat longer than the inner walls 10 and an interiorly projecting rib 12 extends along the interior wall 11 in inwardly spaced relationship from the outer wall 9. A second rib 13 of outwardly turned angular cross section is formed on the interior wall 11 in inwardly spaced relation to the rib 12.

The upper rail 3 that opposes the lower rail 2 is likewise formed as an aluminum extrusion of generally U-shape having an outer wall or flange 14 and an inner wall or flange 15 spaced equally to the walls 9 and 10 of the lower rail. The walls 14 and 15 are connected by interior wall or web 16. The outer wall 14 of the upper rail has an inwardly offset angled flange 161 that lies behind the outer wall 9 of a superimposed frame section when the door is closed. The inner wall 15 is widened by an outwardly turned flange 17 to form a seat for the inner wall 10 of a superimposed frame section when the door sections are closed. The interior wall 16 of the upper rail 3 is provided with a downwardly projecting interior rib 18 and an interiorly projecting outwardly angled rib 19. The ribs 18 and 19 are directly opposed to theribs 12 and 13 of the lower rail when the upper and lower rails are joined in a flange section.

The end or exterior .stiles that connect the ends of the rail members are aluminum extrusions of identical cross section having parallel outer walls 20 and inner walls 21 spaced equally to the walls on the rail members. The stiles are channel shaped in section and face exteriorly of the frame from interior Walls 22. The interior walls carry interiorly projecting ribs 23 in the same plane as the ribs 12' and 18 and angled ribs 24 in the plane of the angled ribs 13 and 19. The end stiles 4 are abutted against the upper and lower rails 3 and '2 by notching the ends of the interior walls 22 as at 25 and 26 respectively to fit over the ribs on the rail members. The outer walls 20 and inner walls '21 of the stiles are thus in flush abutting engagement with the outer and inner walls of the rails.

The interior stiles 5 are aluminum extrusions of rectangular hollow box section having outer walls 27 and inner walls 28 (see Fig. 5) connected by spaced interior walls 29. The interior walls 29 carry interiorly projecting ribs 30 and angled ribs 31 that are aligned with the corresponding ribs on the rails and stiles so that the interiorly projecting ribs 12, 18, 23 and 30 form a continuous rib around the inside of the openings in the frame section. The angled flanges 13, 19, 24 and 31 similarly form a continuous outwardly angled rib around the frame openings.

The end stiles 4 are, of course, attached to the ends of the rails but the interior stiles may be attached in one or more selected positions by theuse of connector blocks 32. As appears more clearly in Figs. 7 and 9 the connector blocks 32 are cast or extruded blocks of'generally U-shaped cross section having a relatively thick base 33 and relatively thick outer flanges 34-and inner flanges 35. The outer edge of the base 33 is notched as at 36 to receive the interiorly projecting ribs 12 or 18 and is further grooved as at 37 to receive'the angled ribs 13 or 19. The interior of the base 33 of the block is grooved as at 38 to retainingly'receive the heads 39 of bolts 40. The bolts 40 are passed through holes drilled in the desired positions in the'rail members and are secured by nuts 41 accessible through the exteriorly opening channel sections of the rail members. After the connector blocks 32 have been secured in place the stile members 4 or 5 will fit over the connector blocks and the inner and outer walls of the stiles are fastened to the connector blocks by self tapping screws or rivets 42 passed through the walls of the stiles and engaged with the connector blocks.

As appears most clearly from Figs. 2, 4, 8 and 9 the muntins 6 are aluminum extrusions of solid cross section substantially narrower than the interior stiles 5. The muntins have a central body 43 with interiorly projecting straight ribs 44 near the outer edge of each side thereof and interiorly projecting angled ribs 45 near the inner edge of each side thereof. The outer edge of the muntin is widened somewhat outwardly from the ribs 44 as at 46. The straight ribs 44 and angled ribs 45 are aligned with the corresponding ribs 011 the rail members and the ends of the muntins are notched along the ribs as at 47 and 48 to receive the ribs on the rails. When it is desired to subdivide the openings in the door frame holes 49 are drilled in the rails at the desired positions and a muntin is aligned with the holes. Self tapping screws 50 are then passed through the holes and threaded into bores 51 in the ends of the muntin. The muntin thus forms a supporting connection between the upper and lower rails to further strengthen the frame section.

The lower rails 2 are provided with inwardly projecting horizontal flanges 510 that are thickened continuations of the interior walls 11 of the rails. The flanges 510 laterally stiffen the flange sections and as appears in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 function to stiffen the entire door against lateral wind loads when the door is closed. The flanges 510 are cut off as at 52 (see Figs. 2 and 4) at the ends of the rails to provide room for the hinges that connect the sections of the door. The side hinges are provided with lower leaves 53 and upper leaves 54 connected by hinge pins at 55 closely adjacent and in the plane of the parting line between the inner walls and of adjacent rail members. The upper leaves 54 have inwardly turned flanges 56 in which bearings 57 are mounted for supporting the door rollers 58 as is common in doors of this type. The hinge leaves 53 and 54 are secured to the inner walls of the end stiles by bolts 59 that are accessible through the open channel edges of the stiles. Intermediate hinges may be attached between sections of the door as desired and depending upon the width of the door by attaching lower leaves 60 to the inner walls 15 of the upper rail and by attaching coacting leaves 61 of the hinges to the under side of the stiffening flange 510 on the superimposed lower rail 2. The bolt connections 62 and 63 are accessible from the inside of the door and thru the open channel section of the upper rail 3 as the door is being assembled.

The top rail 7 of the top section of the door and the bottom rail 8 of the lower section of the door are of extruded channel shaped section but have a deeper or wider outer wall 64 and an inner wall 65 of equal width. The web or interior wall 66 of the top and bottom rail has a straight rib 67 and an inner angled rib 68 thereon which are aligned with the corresponding ribs on the other rails and stiles. Vertically adjustably mounted on the inside of the outer wall '64 ofthe upper rail is an angle 69 having an outwardly projecting stop and sealing plate 70 secured thereto. The plate 70 is adapted to abut against the top surface of the door frame to close the upper edge of the door opening and may be adjusted on the top rail 7 to conform to irregularities in thealignment of the upper edge of the door opening with the top rail 7. The bottom rail 8 vertically adjustably receives a sealing rail 72 of extruded box shaped section having retaining flanges 73 on its lower edge for holding a flexible weather strip 74. The sealing rail 72 is secured by the screws 75 and can be adjusted to align the weather strip 74 with irregularly shaped floor surfaces under the door.

As has been described, the openings in the door frame sections formed by the rails, stiles and muntins are all surrounded by the straight ribs and the angled ribs on the door frame members. These openings are closed by panels 76 which are usually glass window panes having U-shaped rubber sealing strips 77 engaged around their edges. The sealing strips 77 are seated against the inner sides of the straight ribs and retaining strips 78 are then snapped between the inner sides of the sealing strips and the angled ribs 13, 19, 24, 31 and 45. The retaining strips 78 are of springable sheet metal formed in exteriorly opening channel shaped cross section with outwardly turned edges 79 on their outer flanges that are retained underneath the rubber sealing strips 77 to prevent rattling of the retaining strips. Inwardly turned lips 80 on the inner flanges of the retaining strips form a hooked connection under the angled ribs on the frame members to hold the retaining strips in position. Figure 6 illustrates a modified form of closure for the openings in the frame sections. Instead of a glass or other panel secured against the inner sides of the straight ribs there is provided a metal panel 76A that is welded against the outer surface of the straight ribs. By making the panel 76A of the same thickness as the notches outside of the straight ribs a flush outer surface for the frame section and the door is achieved.

From the foregoing description it will be notedthat only six cross sectional shapes are required for the extrusions to form a door of any desired length or width. This number can be reduced to five where either the muntins or the interior stiles are eliminated. All of the extrusions can be cut to any length and it is not necessary to muake special extrusions for different size doors.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Upper and lower rail members for the sections of a horizontally hinged door adapted to form an overlapping joint between adjacent sections, said rail members being of continuous extruded, section and having inner and outer walls turned exteriorly from interior walls of equal width, the outer wall of the upper member having an inwardly offset angled portion, the outer wallof the lower member being of a width to seat against the outer edge of the angled portion of a subadjacent upper memher when the inner walls of the two members are abutted, and a lateral stiffening flange extending inwardly from the inner wall of the lower member and spaced interiorly 2) from the exterior edge of inner wall to which it is attached, said inner and outer walls of each member being unconnected at their exterior edges and exposing the exterior surface of the interior wall thereof whereby stile connections may be recessed in and are accessible from the exteriors of the rail members.

2. Upper and lower rail members for the sections of a horizontally hinged door adapted to form an overlapping joint between adjacent sections, said rail members being of continuous extruded section and having inner and outer walls turned exteriorly from interior Walls of equal width, the outer Wall of the upper member having an inwardly offset angled portion, the outer wall of the lower member being of a width to seat against the outer edge of the angled portion of a subadjacent upper member when the inner walls of the two members are abutted, and a lateral stiffening flange extending inwardly from the inner wall of one of said members and spaced interiorly from the exterior edge of inner wall to which it is attached, said inner and outer walls of each member being unconnected at their exterior edges and exposing the exterior surface of the interior wall thereof whereby stile connections may be recessed in and are accessible from the exteriors of the rail members.

3. A frame for a section of a multi-section horizontally hinged door comprising upper and lower rail members connected at their ends to upright stile members, said members being of exteriorly opening channel shaped cross section with inner and outer walls connected to interior walls, screw means connecting said rail members to said stile members, part of said screw means projecting into the channel section of said lower rail member in inwardly spaced relation to the outer wall thereof, the outer wall of said upper rail having an inwardly ofi-set flange adapted to project between the outer wall and the projecting portion of the screw means of a similar superimposed frame section with the outer wall of the lower rail of the superimposed section resting vertically on the angle of the front wall of the lower frame section, the inner Walls of said rail members being spaced equally from the outer walls and having edges arranged to abut the inner walls of adjacent frame sections within the range of lateral movement of said outer wall of said upper rail between the outer wall and projecting screw means of said lower rail member, and a laterally inwardly projecting flange on said lower rail member spaced upwardly from the lower edge of the inner wall thereof.

4. A horizontally hinged sectional door comprising a plurality of frame sections having upper and lower rails with the rails of each section connected by stiles, said rails being of channel section opening exteriorly of the frames and having glazing stop ribs on their interior sides, the side walls of said rails being equally spaced and abutted between adjacent sections of the door, laterally inwardly projecting stiffening flanges on the inner side walls of the lower one of the rails of each section and spaced interiorly from the rail abutting edge of said inner side Wall, and hinges having one leaf secured to one of said stiffening flanges with their other leaf secured to the inner side wall of the adjacent rail and with the axis of the hinge disposed in the plane of the abutting inner edges of the rails connected by the hinge.

5. A horizontally hinged sectional door comprising a plurality of frame sections having upper and lower rails with the rails of each section connected by stiles, said rails being of channel section opening exteriorly of the frames and having glazing stop ribs on their interior sides, the side walls of said rails being abutted between adjacent sections of the door, laterally inwardly projecting stiifening flanges on the inner side walls of one of the rails of each section and spaced interiorly from the rail abutting edge of said inner side wall, and hinges having one leaf secured to one of said stiffening flanges with their other leaf secured to the inner side wall of the adjacent rail and with the axis of the hinge disposed in the plane of the abutting inner edges of the rails connected by the hinge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,554,135 Seelar Sept. 15, 1925 2,061,304 Graham Nov. 17, 1936 2,126,418 Siess et a1. Aug. 9, 1938 2,557,753 Mitchell June 19, 1951 2,575,255 Blodgett Nov. 13, 1951 2,640,567 Pressnall June 2, 1953 2,671,539 Kiefer Mar. 9, 1954 2,706,543 Kammerer Apr. 19, 1955 2,714,430 Peterson Aug. 2, 1955 2,752,014 Watson June 26, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,043,898 France June 17, 1953 1,098,810 France Mar. 9, 1955 

